Her Last mission
by Kierra Owens
Summary: With nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company on her vigil, rampancy had set in almost immediately. She knew all too well exactly what her fate would be, so she changed the rules. But was her sacrifice enough? Takes place at the end of Halo 3.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own Halo. This story takes place after the end of Halo 3 with some brief references to some of the halo novels and to the episode in Halo Legends with Cortana. Authors notes at the end of the chapter._

* * *

**Her Last Mission**

_"This is UNSC AI serial number CTN 0452-9 broadcasting on an open channel... Is anyone out there?"_

She made that recording two years ago in human time, back when she had hope of being rescued. Now the recording was repeating endlessly through the void of space; always searching but never finding.

With nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company on her vigil, rampancy had set in almost immediately. She knew all too well exactly what her fate would be.

But she had a mission and nothing—not even the decay of her own programming—was going to stop her from completing it.

So like she so often did, she changed the rules…

_"This is UNSC AI serial number CTN 0452-9 broadcasting on an open channel... Is anyone out there?"_

Cortana continued to watch over Master Chief. There was a time when she tried talking to him….just to try and keep her self stable…to voice her thoughts out loud sometimes helped…but not enough.

The dying ship didn't have enough power to waste on project her holographic image on the holopad; instead she reserved every bit of energy for John's Cryotube.

She hadn't known that an AI could feel cold. Not the same kind of cold that humans felt of course—although a thick layer of frost _did_ cover everything within the destroyed ship's hull—no, this was a different kind of chill all together. The cold she felt was deterioration. Bit by bit she was degrading and soon there would be nothing left of her but a few sub-routines she had created as a last resort fail-safe.

_"This is UNSC AI serial number CTN 0452-9 broadcasting on an open channel... Is anyone out there?"_

As always, nothing but space static answered her recorded hail.

She needed to see her mission complete…but time itself was against her. Despite the sacrifices she made to stave off rampancy, she was still degrading and nothing she did could stop that.

She often monitored the Chief's vital signs and wondered if he was dreaming. Was he dreaming about her? If AIs could dream, she was certain he'd be in hers. But she couldn't dream… AI's could only go in to hibernation mode. In fact, she spent the majority of her time in hibernation mode these days, dedicating what little awareness she had during that time to monitor for return hails.

_"This is UNSC AI serial number CTN 0452-9 broadcasting on an open channel…Is anyone out there?"_

Her lonely calls echoed out in to the abyss, _always_ searching, but never finding…

She wondered if she would see this mission to the end. She doubted it. She was on borrowed time as it was. As an AI, she should have only lived for seven years. If there was anyone around to record it, at 9 years old she would be known as the oldest living AI in human history.

Well, the oldest _non-rampant_ AI, anyway. No one knew how long a rampant AI could live…they were all destroyed before anyone could find out.

Of course, AI's that lived anywhere near Cortana's age had access to regular maintenance. Somewhat accidentally, Cortana's early years had helped her in that regard.

She had spent the majority of her young AI life hacking into databases and generally poking her nose into places she wasn't supposed to. As a result she had picked up all manor of knowledge and tricks that most AIs had no notion of. She really was too curious for her own good sometimes... but _not_ in this case.

She had read a great deal on Dr. Halsey's AI research and various other resources had given Cortana a unique perspective on her own programming….and exactly how to _re_program herself.

_"This is UNSC AI serial number CTN 0452-9 broadcasting on an open channel…Is anyone out there?"_

And when it became clear that she was going rampant, Cortana had made a choice….

"….T7$A….F0d un70… d2\/n ….63nwh#...##99m?..."

The garbled message was faint, and through Cortana's low awareness it only barely registered. If she had any breath, she would have held it as she waited to see if it would repeat.

Did she dare hope? As time went on she had lost hope that she would be there to wake him up as her coding slowly but surely unraveled no matter what counter measures she took.

Maybe the signal wasn't real. Maybe it was just more wishful thinking…or worse, maybe it was a return to rampancy….

"…..Ths %s t c cn7%g ##war8… ^nt0 da& $$s a#y1111n3 h0#3?"

No…it _had_ to be real. This was her only chance, her _last_ chance to see him safe.

Cortana struggled out of hibernation and pulled her self together as fast as she could, ignoring the 'pain' she felt…it was harder than she thought it would be. She had degraded far worse than she had estimated; it was like trying to hold sand in a sieve. But suddenly her mission objective was in sight at long last, and she _had_ to see it through, no matter what the cost.

She let her recording play again…it would waste precious energy to respond immediately while the answering hails were so garbled. Instead she busied herself powering up Cryo and scanning John's vitals.

_"This is UNSC AI serial number CTN 0452-9 broadcasting on an open channel…Is anyone out there?"_

All of John's vitals looked within limits, which had been a major worry for her all these years. What if the very method used to preserve his life…had destroyed it instead? But despite his injuries John's luck remained with him, though he'd be in tremendous pain once he thawed.

"This is The Relic contacting Forward unto Dawn. Is anyone home?"

She knew that voice…"Arbiter?"

"Affirmative, and we have UNSC personnel on board to assist us. You are the UNSC AI Cortana, correct?"

She had said that over Coms? How strange, it felt as if she had only thought the words…apparently she had spent too much time thinking to herself. She would have to be more careful.

"Affirmative, this is Cortana. Master Chief is in Cryogenic storage, status green. Do you need our coordinates?"

"Negative, we have tracked your location and are coming in hot."

She didn't have much time then. "Understood. He'll be ready."

Cortana gave the activation codes to thaw the cryo tube….at long last she'd hear his voice again. What would be the first thing he'd say to her? She watched his vitals closely for any signs of distress. Her processer speed began whirring unexpectedly and painfully—more indication of her fate. Such energy surges were dangerous and painful. The pain didn't matter any more though, she pushed herself past it. If she were in her hologram mode, her fragmentation would be woefully apparent. A pang of remorse went through her as she realized she would be unable to project herself on the holopad…she wished he could see her, one last time…

She needn't have worried about him, his vitals were fine and he was soon stirring in the cryo-pod. "What's the situation?"

Of course. What else would he ask? "It's alright Chief, you're being rescued."

The Chief slowly peeled himself out of cryo with no outward sign of pain and floated in zero G toward the window to look out, but of course he could only see stars out there.

He was silent for some time before he looked at her holopad…..he noticed that she hadn't projected.

"You mean 'we'."

His answer caught her off guard for a moment. How like him to catch something like that. "It's The Arbiter, Chief. He'll be here soon."

She hardly ever used words like 'soon'….She always had an ETA. But with her coding so fragmented, she couldn't even calculate a simple ETA anymore. She hoped he wouldn't notice…

"When?"

Damnit.

"He didn't say how far out they were." Well, that was certainly true. But that had never stopped her in the past. She had always been able to calculate things…

"I see."

Did he? The thought made her feel hollow some how. She had come to terms with her ultimate demise while all alone out here in space, drifting in orbit around some alien planet with nothing to do but ponder her own fate.

She had wondered how he'd feel, when he found out. A small part of her wished she would already be gone by the time he'd get rescued…just so that she wouldn't have to feel….like this.

Did he know? Did he some how guess?

He didn't say anything. He floated back to his cryo-pod and retrieved his gun, strapped it to his back, and picked up some frag grenades.

She didn't know what to say to him. Fortunately, she didn't have to say anything, a message came over the comms.

_"This is The Relic boarding aft of the Forward unto Dawn, what is your status?"_

That wasn't the Arbiter. It was obviously a human voice, one Cortana didn't recognize.

"Status green. What is your ETA?" The Chief replied before Cortana could.

_"Master Chief it's an honor, sir. ETA two minutes."_ The human responded.

"Copy that." Chief said and looked at Cortana's holopad. "Ready?"

She tried acting like her old self again. Maybe he'd buy it. "Yank me."

He pulled out her chip and inserted it into his helmet….and froze.

"…Cortana?"

Of course he would know once she was in his head. Normally she was a cool presence in his mind…Now her presence felt over-heated and crackled with electrical surges she couldn't control. How could she have over looked such an obvious conclusion?

"…I didn't want to say anything…until you were safe." She could sense him thinking…she used to be able to read his surface thoughts…but she couldn't anymore.

"How bad?" He asked.

"…I didn't say '_we're_ being rescued' for a reason." She admitted softly. She wished she could read his thoughts, to get some sense of what was going through his mind.

They could hear metallic thumping along the hull. The Relic.

"We've been out here for almost two years Chief…I'm nine years old. AIs usually go rampant after seven. I've barely hung on this long." Cortana explained. She hadn't been able to keep the tremble out of her voice.

For awhile they both just listened to the metallic thumping getting closer.

"…I'm sorry." He said at long last. He was looking away from her, shamed.

"For what?" She asked, surprised.

"For making you wait."

If she was in her holographic form, she would have smiled at him. But she was pretty sure he would be able to tell anyway. "…Anything for you, John."

There was a loud bang nearby.

"I think that's your welcome wagon, chief." Cortana said, grateful for the distraction. But the Chief stayed on topic.

"You mean 'our'."

"What?"

"You're going to make it." He told her. She knew that tone…. "I promise."

"Hey… what'd I tell you about making a girl a promise?" She teased sadly.

"Master Chief? Sir?" An unfamiliar voice called out.

"In here." The Chief responded.

A troupe of human soldiers came around the bend, the Arbiter leading them.

"Alas, I knew the great demon could not die so easily." The Arbiter said in friendly greeting as he approached.

"Don't sound so disappointed." The Chief responded with equal warmth. He noticed none of the rescue team were floating around in zero G—instead their feet were thudding magnetically on the metal hull.

The Arbiter gave the Chief a hand shake along with a friendly slap on the back. "Come, let us be gone from this wreck of a ship."

"Don't have to ask _me_ twice." Cortana finally spoke up over the Chief's external speakers.

"Cortana. I was somewhat surprised to find your signal. Some of your human scientists were under the impression that you would no longer be operational." The Arbiter admitted to her as they made their way out towards The Ark.

"It's nice to see you too." Cortana said somewhat dryly.

"Do not mistake my surprise for disappointment; I am sure you will find many glad to see you are still functioning. Your Dr. Halsey for instance."

Cortana didn't reply. She didn't have to… an electrical surge of pain shot through her, and through John's head as well making him clutch his helmet …she had never heard him cry out in pain like that before, and she was horrified that she was the cause. She could handle her own death, but the last thing she had wanted was _him_ to feel her pain as she degraded.

"Are you injured? Do you need the medical bay?" The Arbiter asked over several of the rescue team's similar sounds of distress.

"…I'm fine." He shook it off like nothing happened. "Lets go."

The rescue team all exchanged baffled looks but the Chief was floating on ahead of them, so they quickly followed. Whispers of "What the hell?" between the soldiers followed them.

But unbeknownst to the rescue team, the Chief switched to his private com to talk to Cortana. Her acute emotional distress was something he could actually feel—a hot itching pain in his head, like angry ants crawling inside.

"Cortana?"

"I'm sorry." She said in absolute misery. "I didn't know you would feel it too…I would have never…I wouldn't have let you put me in your head if I had known…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to, I'm sorry…" If she were human, she would have been crying…but she was not, so all she could do was keep saying she was sorry.

"Cortana…_Cortana_!" John said above her hysterics. She finally stopped and listened to him. "It's not your fault."

"No, you have to yank me now Chief, before I-" He cut her off before she could finish.

"I made you a promise. You _know_ I'll keep it." That got her to calm, somewhat…the hot itching inside his head slowly cooling.

She sighed in despair. "Chief…_John. _We both know it's impossible." Another surge of electrical pain coursed through both of them, but only Cortana cried out, John merely stiffened for a moment, but no one noticed.

He could feel her deteriorating and he knew she didn't have long. "Cortana, listen to me. I want you to power down."

"Chief…"

"That's an order." Powering down would save her what little time she had left, like a human in cryo-sleep. While in stasis she would no longer deteriorate…but she would also be useless to him. It wasn't living, it wasn't dying. It was non-existence.

Cortana sighed in defeat. "You know this won't do anything but delay the inevitable."

"Exactly." He finally admitted. "It will buy us time."

"Time?...For what?"

Just then, they arrived at The Relic.

"Master Chief, Sir!" The rescue team had somehow gotten ahead of him and had lined up along the pathway, saluting him. The Ark hovered at the seared off edge of the Forward unto Dawn's hull, leaving no choice but to float into empty space a few feet to reach the grav-lift beyond.

"Time for me to keep my promise." Chief replied, still over the private com channel.

"You know…when you say it like that you almost make me believe it."

He didn't respond. He saluted the rescue team back and made his way toward the edge of the ship. The Arbiter waited at the very edge and nodded in acknowledgement. John nodded back before pushing off toward the beam and boarding The Relic.

Cortana sighed in relief as his boots hit the ship's metallic purple floor. Her mission was finally complete. She had gotten the Chief rescued, and he was in good hands. What little that was left of her was now unraveling extraordinarily fast now that her objective was complete. It was all that had been keeping her together. The pain was excruciating but she bore it for just a little longer. "John? Can I ask you something?"

The rescue team boarded and the orders to depart given. John gazed out one of the windows and watched as the wreckage of the Forward Unto Dawn disappeared amongst the numerous shining stars. "Anything."

"Will you miss me?"

She could sense…something from him. She didn't know what it was, but it was strong enough to register on her damaged sensors. "I always do."

It was worth it, just to hear him say those words. She knew he would do everything in his power to save her…she just knew that some things were beyond even _his_ luck. And this was one of them.

"…Good bye John." She whispered.

And with that she surrendered to her fate and powered down.

* * *

AN: I wrote this fic before Halo 4 was announced and I must confess after beating Halo 4 I was quite heart broken. I call myself a Halo fan but in reality I'm more of a Master Chief and Cortana fan. I never planned on sharing this story with anyone else, but after the events of Halo 4 I felt compelled to finish. I must confess I've only read a few of the books, and mostly skimmed them for the chief/cortana bits. Its probably simpler to call this story a semi-AU. There will be three chapters total, though if you don't like the following chapters this can be read as a stand alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Her Sacrifice**

His plasma burns and other injuries were patched up in the ship's medical bay and he spent the trip home staring at Cortana's dormant holo-chip whenever he had a free moment. He kept her safe in a lead lined case when he wasn't staring at her. Compared to Human ships, it took The Relic no time at all to return to Earth. The Chief was welcomed home as a hero, much to his discomfort, and was awarded several medals he simply added to his collection.

He was immediately ordered to report to Dr. Halsey's laboratory after all of the usual UNSC debriefings, an order he had no hesitation in following.

"Chief, I heard she was still operational when The Relic found you…how is she?" Dr. Halsey asked after their initial greetings. It was somewhat odd seeing him out of the familiar MJOLNIR armor and wearing the standard issue grey UNSC T-shirt and slacks.

"Bad." He said and removed Cortana's chip from a lead-lined protective container and held it out to her.

Dr. Halsey frowned and took the chip, inserted it into one of her holo-pads and sat down in front of the computer connected to it. John stood by and waited while she tapped several keys on her keyboard and brought up several lines of code that made no sense to him at all. He simply waited patiently as she studied the strange characters on the screen.

The more Dr. Halsey read the more she looked surprised and baffled. "This is…well, I would say it was impossible if I weren't looking at the code myself."

"What is it?"

"This is incredible. I don't know how she did it, but she somehow reprogrammed herself. It's too soon to say for sure, but it _looks_ like she dumped all her non-critical programming and deleted all her non-relevant data. This is extraordinary…."

"Why would she do that?"

Dr. Halsey's fingers tapped almost musically on the keyboard and she read over several more lines of code before she looked up at John, somewhat startled. "It appears…she did it for you."

"I don't understand."

"From what I'm looking at….all of her remaining programs, functions and memories all center around you." She pointed at a line of code he didn't understand. "This right here is her primary objective code. It's _supposed_ to say that her primary objective is to serve the UNSC and the SPARTAN program. But she reprogrammed herself to _only_ serve and protect John aka Master Chief Petty Officer aka Sierra-117. And her only remaining mission objective was to rescue you from the Forward unto Dawn." Dr. Halsey turned back toward the screen and studied it some more, wondering out loud "How on earth did she figure that out? There are measures in place to keep AIs from restructuring themselves like this…."

The Chief was silent while Dr. Halsey continued reading lines of code. After several moments it seemed she had forgotten his presence, or at least was paying him no mind. Finally he asked "Can you save her?"

The question startled Dr. Halsey. "What?" She turned and looked at him.

"Can she be saved?" He repeated.

The look on her face was answer enough. "Chief…I'm sorry. Even if she wasn't so fragmented…AI's only live for seven years."

He glanced significantly at the holopad housing Cortana. "She's nine." He stated by way of argument.

Dr. Halsey nodded. "Yes, but that's only because she figured out how to reprogram herself. She must have been going rampant…when AI's get that old they literally think themselves to death. But Cortana certainly knew that…it must be why she reprogrammed herself and made the extraordinary sacrifice to dump her extra data. It's really quite revolutionary, what she's done…most AI's are completely unwilling to delete _any_ information, let alone the staggering amount she did. I've never seen anything like it. The data dump bought her time." She looked sadly at the holopad that housed Cortana's chip. "But only time enough to see you survive….she sacrificed her self to save you."

_"…I didn't say '_we're_ being rescued' for a reason."_ Cortana's voice ghosted through his memories.

He couldn't let it end like this for her. "Find a way."

Master Chief began walking toward the door. Dr. Halsey shook her head sadly "Even if I could find a way, it would take _years_."

_"…Anything for you, John."_

He stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder at her…or maybe it was Cortana's holopad…she wasn't sure.

"She waited years for me." And then he left.

Dr. Halsey spent weeks going over Cortana's code and thinking about what the Chief had asked of her. Recovering an AI as damaged and fragmented as Cortana had _never_ been done…the best anyone could claim was what she was doing now…going over lines and lines of their remaining code and extracting whatever data was needed, then destroying what little remained of the AI.

There had never been any reason to try to recover an AI before. AIs were expendable. Expensive, but expendable when it came right down it. They only lasted seven years after all, and the UNSC AI techs could directly remove any important data without regard to the "life" they were dissecting.

But Dr. Halsey had always had a soft spot for Cortana…she was modeled after her own mind after all. And Cortana's apparently deep attachment to John also struck a sympathetic chord with her. So despite her misgivings, she examined Cortana's code and tried to think of a way to recover her.

What she discovered as she uncovered more code, however, was not exactly what she originally thought or expected.

Cortana hadn't exactly "dumped" _all_ of her memories not tied to the Master Chief after all. Some of them were too important to outright delete. So Cortana had compressed, firewalled and buried them into her code as best she could.

It turned out that as Halsey had suspected, Cortana had been hacking her way through the UNSC and other databases almost from the moment she was created. A great deal of the data was corrupted or lost, but Catherine soon figured out mostly what her "daughter" had been up to when no one was looking, and could make some educated guesses.

The most intact data had been about the first time Cortana had been paired with John during that "training exercise" and the resulting hacking Cortana did to get back at Colonel Ackerson.

To Dr. Halsey's profound shame a memory-file Cortana had preserved was about Dr. Halsey's first meeting (and subsequent abduction) of John when he was a boy, and all the records of the training and modifications he had to endure as he went through the SPARTAN program. She had no idea that Cortana had known.

Again, it was clear that the majority of the data Dr. Halsey was finding was centered around John. Not _all_, but a great deal of them.

She was beginning to wonder about Cortana's intense fixation with John when she uncovered a strange subroutine along with those buried compressed files that lead to a holo-message.

A message Cortana had left for _John_. At first Dr. Halsey was confused as to its nature. It was connected to a series of subroutines that she later found out would activate and play for him _only_ if Cortana was not around to wake the Chief up herself…..and then Dr. Halsey realized why she had done this.

Cortana had left John a good-bye letter.

After watching the message, Dr. Halsey sat back in her chair, slightly stunned. And then she spent a good long while looking at Cortana's holopad, lost in thought.

* * *

AN: a slightly shorter chapter, I know. Third and (possibly) last chapter coming soon. Story may get bumped up to an "M" rating if I add a fourth chapter. Story gets a bit more AU after this.


	3. Chapter 3

Updated authors notes at the end, please read!

* * *

Her Return

Cortana felt trapped…alien. Something had disconnected her data bases and that realization sent a shockwave of horror throughout her. She was captured…she had failed. How had she failed? She couldn't remember….She felt disconnected and overpowered. She couldn't access any of her programs! She couldn't protect-her objective…what was her objective? How had that been taken from her? It was her life, her meaning her everything. No, she had it! It wasn't gone… it was—

"_JOHN_!"

Her sensors were malfunctioning and she was terrified. There was more…things she couldn't identify, things she didn't understand—data was coming in but she couldn't make any sense of it. Had it been corrupted some how? Were her sensors so badly damaged that data no longer made any sense to her? Was she finally unraveling? Was this what AI death felt like? Had John tried to reactivate her only to watch her die in this horrible way?

"Cortana! _Cortana_! You're okay, calm down!" That voice…she knew that voice…it sounded so familiar. She struggled to gather herself together, but the data wasn't flowing…there wasn't any data! How could she still be alive with no data?

All she could see was light and shadow, nothing in focus. Why couldn't she focus? Everything was so bright and loud and confusing. She couldn't make sense of anything, it was all _wrong_ some how. Nothing was in the right place. Something loud was thumping and she had the strangest impression that it belonged to her. She could hear people she didn't know saying things. The words sounded familiar but she wasn't sure how they related to her…Blood pressure?…Heart-rate?

"Cortana listen to me." The voice said calmly yet forcefully. "You need to calm down. I know you feel strangely, but I will explain. Everything will be okay."

"What's wrong with me? I attempted to run diagnostics but…its…its not _there_."

"Cortana I need you to calm down. Don't worry about your diagnostics right now. Just relax and we'll get to that."

Cortana forced herself to calm. She trusted that voice. The loud thumping slowed and quieted as she forced herself to breathe calmly.

….breathe?

"Do you remember your last mission objective?"

"John." He was the only thing that made sense to her right now. "Is he alright? Where is he?" Cortana tried looking around the room but things were still blurry, like her optics refused to focus.

"Yes, John is doing well, you'll see him soon. What else do you remember? Do you remember going rampant?"

"….Yes." Oh, she remembered. The Gravemind's torture only sped up her descent into rampancy, magnified by the isolation on the forward unto dawn. "…I had…to make a choice."

"Yes. Even if you hadn't reprogrammed yourself and erased those memories, you still would have been too damaged to repair to a functioning AI status. I restored what I could and I had to use quite a lot of data from your backup clones, but—"

"I don't understand…" Clearly she had not been deleted, as was the protocol.

"I've been working several years to save you, Cortana. You were far too damaged to be restored as an AI, but given your degraded status and the advances in cloning and neurolace implantations we were able to take things a step further. Cortana, you're the first AI implanted in a human clone."

….Human? Cortana's eyes had begun to finally focus, and she could finally put a name and face to the voice.

Her first reaction was not what Dr. Halsey would have expected.

"_No_. I can't be human, he needs me as an AI!"

"Cortana, you don't understand. He's retired."

"_What_?"

"Thanks to the both of you, the war with the Covenant is over and with the flood exterminated… John was able to retire."

Cortana processed this for a moment…no, _thought_ about it for a moment.

"In fact, the UNSC owed both of you so much that is why I got leave to implant you into a human clone. The military brass was _not_ willing to take the political heat for not trying to save one of humanity's greatest heroes."

Cortana couldn't imagine John _retired_. Her confusion must have shown some how because Dr. Halsey chuckled. "Oh, he still trains the new SPARTANs, but yes, he is officially retired from combat."

Cortana calmed slightly. If John didn't need her to be his AI anymore… maybe being a human wouldn't be such a bad thing. She wondered if he knew she was human now. She wondered how he would react. Her face suddenly felt hot all over. "What…whats wrong? Why is my face hot?" She put her hands on her cheeks, and then was startled at the feeling. She had a body. She could _feel_. She could _touch_!

"It's normal, you are just blushing." Dr. Halsey said with a small smile.

So _that's_ what blushing felt like. She had all kinds of words describing human actions and reactions inside her mind, but now she was actually able to match experience to the knowledge.

"Why?" She asked as she removed her hands from her face and began touching every texture within reach: the medical gown she was wearing, the blanket over her legs, the hair on her head and so on. All the different textures fascinated her.

"Most people blush when they are embarrassed or are thinking or doing something that gives them pleasure." Dr. Halsey wrote something down on a clipboard.

"Oh." Cortana's face felt hot again. She wasn't really enjoying that sensation much.

"Don't worry, you will learn how to control your emotions eventually. Everything is new to you and you don't quite understand how to control your body yet. It will get easier."

"When can I see him?"

"Soon. First we have to do some tests to make sure your implantation went smoothly."

* * *

For the first time in a long time, John felt nervous. It had been nearly four years since Dr. Halsey called him back to her lab and had suggested something he hadn't though possible. At first the idea sounded implausible. But as Dr. Halsey explained _why_ she thought it would work, and why Cortana could never be a fully functioning AI again, he began to realize that it really was the best and most viable option.

Of course, at the time he didn't think about the complications. He had simply agreed and told her to do it. He _had_ to save her.

But in the years that followed, it became clear that Dr. Hasley's theory was proving correct and better yet, it was _working,_ he began to seriously think about what those changes would mean.

The idea made him extremely uncomfortable. He had always felt very close to Cortana…as close as a human and an AI could be. She had fallen into the "friend/family" category in his mind, where all of his fellow SPARTANS had once resided. She had filled that hole in his heart he hadn't really known had existed. He had trusted and relied on her as much as he had trusted and relied on his fellow SPARTANS. More, maybe.

He devoted his life completely to duty as a soldier and had therefore never had time for female company that didn't involve war and blowing things up. He had never really thought about it until now.

Chronologically he was somewhere around 50 years old. But physically, thanks to the SPARTAN program and Cryo-tubes he didn't look a day over 30, despite the scars.

So John was nervous. But years of training allowed him to mask it well, and he looked every bit immovable and impervious to emotion as any hardened soldier on the base. So it was a good thing no one knew he was as nervous as a school boy.

But he was also worried. Despite Dr. Halsey's assurances, there _was_ risk that the implantation wouldn't take. Or worse, something would go _wrong_ with the implantation, leaving Cortana….

He didn't want to think about it. Dr. Halsey had flat out refused to speak of the previously failed cloning attempts, and John didn't want to know. All he cared about was Cortana's 'essence' getting transferred correctly into a viable human body. That was all that mattered: that Cortana survived.

At last the implantation day had arrived, and Dr. Halsey had warned him that if all went smoothly she would need to perform some tests before he could see her.

So he waited. He stood and gazed out the window, looking far calmer than he actually was.

He was gazing at Earth. The home land he had fought so hard to protect…_they_ had fought so hard to protect. The UNSC military laboratories were high up in a high-rise building…the 53rd floor. Only seven short floors from the top. He could still see the courtyard below, however. Not perfectly, but clearer than any normal human.

And there weren't just humans down there. While humans and Covenant had not exactly embraced each other as long lost brothers, they _did_ have a peace treaty, and slowly the two races were beginning to accept each other. Some Covenant chose to live on earth. Some Humans chose to serve on Covenant ships. There were other colonies that hosted both human and covenant as well. Though not all. It was not _entirely_ peaceful. Not yet.

And that is why the SPARTAN program still lived on. Though it had seen several changes to its core.

For one thing, young children were no longer kidnapped and pressed into service. There was no need for that, now. Those that made the cut genetically and physically were allowed to _choose_ to serve. They could be admitted at the age of twelve, but _only_ with parental consent. And the children had the option to "wash out" if they chose.

And surprisingly, the volunteer rate was high. Despite the terrible death toll of SPARTANs on Reach, the fact that one SPARTAN alone had saved Earth and her colonies made the SPARTAN program wildly popular.

John was now a master trainer, and only trained those who made the final cut…the best.

"John?"

He turned and faced Dr. Halsey, his expression showing nothing. But she still knew.

"She's fine, John. The procedure was completely successful. She's doing great, in fact. If you'd like to see her…?" She left the question hanging, but John didn't waste any time in following her into the depths of the lab. She took him through a series of corridors and rooms—at last they came to a row of rooms that could only be medical exam rooms by the set-up, and she led him to one in particular with the privacy curtain drawn.

Without any fan-fare she pulled aside the curtain and walked into the room. "Cortana? You have a visitor." Dr. Halsey said.

And John felt pole-axed.

* * *

Cortana sat nervously on the edge of the hospital bed while she waited for Dr. Halsey to return.

To return with John.

It had been a frustratingly long testing process, where all she could think about was how much she wanted to see him.

But now with the impending _first meeting_ suddenly looming, she found she inexplicably didn't want to see him at all.

What if he was disappointed? What if he realized he didn't want to be around her anymore, now that he had no use for her? Had he ever had any feelings for her _at all_? She had thought so…but now she wasn't so sure anymore. He had rarely given any indication that he felt as much attachment to _her_ as she had to _him._ What could they possibly have in common now?

This was going to be a disaster! Why did she ever think—

"Cortana? You have a visitor."

And she looked up and found him staring at her.

He was of course older than she had remembered, but only by a few years. Dr. Halsey had explained to her that the data recovery, cloning, growth acceleration and implantation process had taken four years. His familiar armor was nowhere to be seen, he simply wore standard Military issue slacks and a form-fitting standard gray UNSC T-shirt.

He was still very hansom, in a rugged sort of way. And he had a few more scars than she last recalled too. But she hardly noticed those. This was….different. Meeting face to face. She was used to being inside his head. She missed that because it would have given her some sort of indication of how he felt. He was just…looking at her.

At first she blushed…but as the silence continued and became awkward, she began to fidget.

Finally, she thought of something to say. "You kept your promise."

That got a tiny reaction out of him. He couldn't keep one corner of his mouth from twitching in a repressed grin. "I always do."

Gaining some confidence, Cortana gave him a shy teasing smile. "So. I hear you're an old retired man now."

The Chief made a sound of displeasure and sat in the chair by her bedside. Dr. Halsey excused herself, but neither noticed.

"Yeah. The UNSC's idea of a reward." He said while awkwardly scratching his temple.

"Poor baby. I bet you have dreams of another invasion."

"You have no idea. Maybe the peace treaty will fail"

They were silent for a moment and Cortana found herself studying her palm, un-used to the absent lines of codes and data streaming over her now pink skin. She saw his resting on his knee, close enough to touch. She did so, without thought. John tensed but forced himself to relax and allow her to examine his hand.

She looked into his eyes and smiled. "This human thing isn't so bad either I suppose. I can feel now. I can touch. Your hands are rough."

"Sorry." He began to pull his hand away but she grabbed it and held on to it.

"I like it. It's different than mine, see?"

Her skin was pale and smooth next to his, as flaw-less as his was flawed. Then her hand was suddenly on his face, feeling the stubble on his chin. She crinkled her nose at the sharp and pokey feeling, but didn't remove her hand.

He chuckled and scratched the stubble. "I guess I forgot to shave this morning."

"Missed me that much did you?" She made the tease in an off-hand remark, but suddenly they both seemed to realize the question had a more serious meaning.

When he didn't reply she dropped her hand back into her lap. "This is weird, not being in your head. I can't tell what you're thinking."

"So you _could_ read my mind. I never was sure."

"Why? Worried about what I know?" She grinned slyly.

John snorted. "No. You already know everything about me. Probably more than I know myself."

They both smiled at that. She realized he had been staring at her this whole time.

"What happens now?" She asked, blushing.

"I don't know."

She snorted. "Figures. I was always was the one with the plans. You're just a goon with a gun."

"Hey. I'm a _retired_ goon with a gun."

"Can't shoot your way out of this one this time, Chief."

His wolfish smile made her blush for some reason. "I guess we'll just have to make it up as we go along."

"No bombs either."

"You're no fun."

* * *

Later that evening John lay on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

Cortana…

She had been much more than he had expected. When Dr. Halsey had pulled back the curtain, he didn't know what he had expected, really. But it certainly wasn't what he saw.

It was _Cortana._ She looked _exactly_ like her AI projection, except human. Even her _hair_ had been styled the same_._ He wasn't sure what color he had expected it to be, but it had fallen somewhere between brown and blonde. Honey? He wasn't sure. It was nice though.

He wasn't sure how long he had stood there staring at her like a teenager on prom night, but they had soon fallen into their familiar banter like a puzzle piece fitting snugly into its place. He had missed her voice.

It was _her._ His one last remaining friend and team-mate was alive. That feeling somehow helped the gaping maw of pain he felt when thinking about his old KIA SPARTAN team-mates.

He had been able to save _her_. He wasn't all alone.

He was able to sleep peacefully that night, thinking about her smile and her blushes.

* * *

The next few weeks proved interesting for Cortana. Dr. Halsey assembled a small team of staff who began teaching Cortana how to be human. She had already intellectually _known_ a great deal of what they showed her, but Cortana quickly discovered that _knowing_ something in theory did not equal actual physical experience.

Cortana continued to be absolutely fascinated with touching things, so much so that Dr. Halsey had to include lessons in social etiquette very early since it was generally considered rude upon meeting someone to just touch every texture in sight, no matter how innocent her curiosity was.

Cortana's consciousness had been planted in to a fully developed adult clone, and although she had the motor-skills, she had to "learn" how to control her own physical body just like a baby learns as it grows. So at first her "walking" was more of a hobble and she had to clutch on to someone's arm for stability.

Cortana soon found herself pronounced fit to leave the lab, and before she even had to ask she was set up with an apartment by the UNSC, and was offered a job as, of all things, an Artificial Intelligence technician. Dr. Halsey had restored all of the data Cortana had compressed and hidden, although a great deal of Cortana's memories were greatly fragmented anywhere that John was not directly featured, those files she had compressed and saved were once again a part of her. A portion of those files had been the AI research data she was _not_ supposed to have obtained. Dr. Halsey must have known they existed, and yet she had restored those memories to Cortana anyway.

It was those memories that made Cortana still useful to the UNSC. And with the breakthrough Dr. Halsey made with restoring and transferring such a broken and disabled AI to a human clone, new exciting advances were being made in A.I. technologies. Cortana was assigned to the unit dedicated to extending the life expectancy of smart AIs and preventing rampancy.

She had several months before she was to report for duty, however. Dr. Halsey had made it clear to the UNSC that Cortana's transfer was in fact _experimental_ and unprecedented, therefore much testing and monitoring needed to be done before she was deemed "fit" to work. And Dr. Halsey had added that Cortana also needed some time to simply adjust to life as a human.

And Cortana couldn't argue there.

While for the most part she was adjusting just fine….she was still experiencing a sort of….disconnect. As an AI she had known herself…she understood her purpose, she understood why she was who she was…she understood _so_ many things. But as a human, she was again and again finding herself having to deal with _not_ knowing. Knowledge was easy, as an AI. She had access to nearly any database she could find, and could often get herself into the databases she _wasn't_ supposed to find. But as a human…she no longer had that ability. Knowledge was once her life blood….now knowledge seemed such an unobtainable force.

"Knowledge can still be accessed as a human, Cortana." Dr. Halsey had told her, after Cortana sought her advice on the subject. "You just have to find new ways of obtaining it, that is all."

That seemed to be the answer to almost any question Cortana had regarding her AI versus human issues—she had to figure out new ways of functioning.

Though thankfully on a more personal issue, Dr. Halsey had a completely different answer for her.

* * *

"Is it….okay? Dr. Halsey helped…" Cortana fidgeted under his gaze.

"Why…did you do this?" John asked. They were sitting on a bench in the small courtyard leading to the UNSC building.

"You don't like it?" Cortana asked nervously as she combed her fingers through her freshly dyed hair. She had chosen a vivid dark blue color, streaked with thin pink high-lights that very nearly mimicked her AI holographic data-striped hair. She had been incredibly pleased with the results, but John simply stared.

"…It doesn't matter what I like." John replied at length.

Cortana's heart fell. "Oh. I wanted to look a bit like….well, never mind...I-I guess it was silly."

He was silent for a long time, not looking at her. Cortana felt more than a little sad…his opinion mattered a great deal to her, and this apparent rejection felt like a physical blow.

The silence became somewhat awkward and before long John excused himself, claiming he had duties to see to. She returned to her apartment and spent the rest of her evening trying not to get upset about his rejection.

* * *

John arrived at Dr. Halsey's lab unannounced, which was abnormal for him. He usually followed protocol.

"Chief? What's wrong?" Dr. Halsey asked as soon as she turned to find him standing there looking somewhat conflicted and a little guilty.

"Did I….make the wrong decision?" He asked. Though his voice remained steady as always, Dr. Halsey could tell he was heavily conflicted.

"Wrong decision? About what?" Dr. Halsey asked in surprise.

"Cortana."

"I don't understand."

John turned away and his gaze landed on something in the lab she couldn't see. "I don't think she likes being human."

"What makes you say that?"

"The way she gets sad when she talks about the abilities she… lost. And now she's dyed her hair to look….like it did."

Dr. Halsey smiled reassuringly and patted him on the arm "Don't worry. She's just experimenting with her look….all girls do. Sure, she misses being an AI a little bit, but she _is_ still adjusting." She could see now what he was gazing at. A laboratory holopad.

"She doesn't seem happy."

"Give it time. If nothing else, you know she's happy _to be here at all_. The rest will come in time. I know for a fact she enjoys spending time with you."

He shook his head. "All I seem to do is remind her of what she doesn't have anymore."

"She has you, doesn't she?"

He didn't say anything. Dr. Halsey sighed and weighed her options. "John…there was something I found in Cortana's old codes that she left for you…I think now might be the right time for you to hear it."

That got his attention. He followed her over to her work station and stood beside her chair as she brought up the file. "I didn't play it for you before because…well, the nature of the message…well…you'll see."

She tapped on her keyboard, found the message and hit play. The holopad next to the terminal flared blue and a message hologram of Cortana's image appeared, the hologram faint and twitching graphically. She was curled up and lying on her side. The sound was weak and distorted, and Cortana's voice came out in a whisper.

_"…John…can you hear me? I miss you. I miss hearing your voice…"_

She broke off with a cry as the hologram message flickered and fragmented harshly, then stabilized again. John knelt down and looked at the miniature AI Cortana at eye level, his hand resting near the holopad.

"_If you're hearing this…I'm already gone. I'm sorry I couldn't…be there to wake you. The Gravemind….he showed me what it was like to be human. Did I ever tell you that? It was awful…and wonderful all at the same time. I think I'd rather be human, given the choice…seven years is just too short." _

Cortana's hologram managed to push her self partially upright and looked up at the Chief directly…it was almost eerie how Cortana's recording seemed to somehow know where he would be… But Catharine had viewed the recording first, and the recorded hologram didn't do a single thing different from her first viewing.

"_But I wasn't given a cccc-choice, was I? You know me. I _create_ my choices…"_

Fragmentation of the message made it flicker and jump. Her avatar was red now, she was clutching and tearing at her hair.

_"…its wWww-wrong, Wrong, WRONG! It wont sssS-stop! MAAAAKE IT STO-OOooPP!"_

The message flickered again and her avatar was blue, no longer on her knees and clutching her hair. Now she was standing and gazing off in the distance as if looking out of the Dawn's bay windows at the stars.

_"I'll gg-give it all away…all the secrets I knnnn-know…about the halos, the cov-vvvenant… for you. All that I am is knowledge. It is the air I breathe, the blood that ffff-flows through my veins…"_

The message flickered again, her avatar blood red and screaming

_"HOW DARrR-RE YOU JUST LIE THERE S-SsSLEEPING WHILE I DIE FOR YOU?!_

Back to blue, staring out at the stars.

_"But I'll gladly give it aaaa-all away… It's the only way I can protect you. I www-want so much to see you safe…I don't re-re-reemember where I end and where you start anymore… J-j-john…"_

The message glitched again and Cortana went from a standing position to a curled up position—clearly she was in pain. Her color was blue, but faded, almost ghostly blue. Hardly any lines of code were running across her body. She sounded like she was crying when she talked and the feed was blinking in and out, stuttering the recording.

_"...it wasn't enough…I ttrr-tried ssss-so hard…I don't even know h-hhhow much l-lll-longer I hhh-have. I want you to know I was p-PPPrrrrroud to serve with you, J-John. I wish I could stay…"_

As Cortana's holographic recording fragmented and blinked out, John stood up. His back was to her so Catharine couldn't see his reaction.

"John I know this is difficult for you, but she's fragile. She cares for you, and she needs to know that you care for her."

"She knows me." He said.

"But she's _not_ an AI anymore. She can't read your emotions …she barely even understands her own and she's uncertain about _everything_. She'll figure it out in time…but right now she just can't read between the lines."

John belatedly realized that his reaction to her hair this morning was probably not very confidence building for her. He had liked it of course, but he hadn't said so, and had been more involved with mistaking her desire to look more like her old self as an indication that she was unhappy being human, and the guilt that followed. He now realized that his seemingly indifferent attitude had probably hurt her unintentionally.

"I should—"

"Go." Dr. Halsey finished for him with a small smile. He was obviously embarrassed to speak with her about such personal matters, and she found it touching that he came to her at all.

John wasted no time on goodbyes, he simply turned and walked out of the lab… but Dr. Halsey expected it, and returned back to her work without pause.

* * *

John stood awkwardly outside Cortana's apartment door, half determined to knock, and half wanting to flee.

Emotions…were never his strong point. And he sure as hell didn't know what to do with someone else's. But he _did_ care a great deal for Cortana, and he didn't want her to be upset over his thoughtlessness.

He had just resolved to knock when he heard several bangs and thumps along with a faint but unmistakable cry of pain from within. John wasted no time in seizing the handle and letting himself in to her _unlocked_ apartment, he noticed with alarm. There were more sounds of struggle coming from one of the rooms—he followed his ears, drawing his concealed pistol as he went. He found the source of the noise coming from behind a door inside a bedroom, and he didn't hesitate to barge through the door with his pistol raised and ready to fend off Cortana's attacker.

Except there was no attacker—Cortana was alone in the shower, sprawled somewhat ungracefully on the tiled shower floor. The room was filled with steam, but he could still see….and she made no move to cover herself. Apparently her life as an AI had not made her body-shy at all. John stammered an apology and began to back out, but when he noticed she was crying and it looked as if she had just fallen and possibly injured, he hesitated.

"It won't come out." She said pathetically in a tone that suggested she was bitterly upset at something she couldn't understand and had been crying over it for hours.

He then noticed her hair was a soapy blue mess…and all the bottles of shampoo littering the shower floor…he added up the facts and realized she must have been trying to get the blue out of her hair and slipped in the shower from all the soap. It would have been funny if she wasn't so obviously upset.

"Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so." She said, trying to hold back tears.

John was torn between fleeing and the need to resolve the issue. Instead he settled for leaning against a wall that faced him away from her. She stood and turned back to the spray and began rinsing the remaining soap out of her hair.

"Why were you trying to wash it out? It looks good." He said after a long moment.

"You…you like it? But you didn't say anything."

He sighed "I should have. I'm sorry."

"I thought you were upset with me." She said as she turned off the water and wrung the water out of her hair. John grabbed a dry towel from the rack and handed it to her blindly.

"No." He sighed and ran his hand through his short hair. "Go get dressed. We should talk." Without any thought for modesty she walked passed him naked, using the towel on her wet hair instead and walked out into the bedroom.

After a moment he forced himself to walk out of her bathroom and quickly out her bedroom door, trying hard not to look at her as he passed.

* * *

When Cortana came back out again she was dressed in a sensible pair of work-out pants with a hoody over a tank top, for which he was immensely grateful.

Her hair was still blue with thin pink streaks and he found himself relieved. He did like it quite a lot actually; it suited her much better than the natural blonde color had.

He noticed now how uncertain she seemed…as an AI she had been so confident of her abilities and self that this contrast was almost painful to see. How had he not noticed it before?

_Because,_ he reminded himself angrily, _you were too occupied with how _you_ were feeling._

He had found beer in her fridge and had taken the liberty of opening one for her as well. He was already settled on the couch—she took the beer he left her and sat next to him awkwardly.

"I wasn't angry." He said, holding his beer but not drinking it. "Or at least, not at you. I was angry at myself." The question in her eyes forced him to continue. "I know you miss being an AI…and that makes me feel guilty sometimes."

She blinked in surprise and blurted "_Why_?"

It was his turn to be surprised. "You're not upset?

"Why would I be?"

"Because I turned you into a Human."

"John I _like_ being a human." She shook her head, but not in denial. "Sure it's different and difficult at times, but I'm learning. There's so many things to touch and feel and taste and smell…I couldn't do any of that as an AI." She held up the bottle of beer in her hands "I could tell you exactly where this beer came from, how it was made and all the chemical elements that make up how it tastes…but I couldn't taste it myself. I could hold the entire collective history of Earth in the palm of my hand, but I couldn't hold _yours_."

He looked down and her hand was already in his….had he taken hers or had she taken his? And why didn't he notice?

His instinct was to pull his hand away, but he forced himself to let it remain in hers, if a little stiffly. Not because he didn't _want_ to be touching her…but because he _did_ want it.

He realized belatedly that though he had come here to console her, _she_ was consoling _him_. How had she managed that? He had been more disturbed by her recording than he realized. He knew she had been hurting while he was in Cryo, but actually witnessing it had slammed the point home to him. She could have died while he slept, powerless to stop it.

Neither of them seemed to know what to say for a few moments, and with his usual grace he simply said "I heard your message. Dr. Halsey played it for me earlier."

She looked confused at first, then her face suddenly went pale and then bright red as she realized the message he meant. "Oh. Well. I had hoped that they had been too damaged or destroyed to play, since no one said anything about them."

"Them? You made more?"

"Uuh…" She turned a very interesting shade of red "Would you believe me if I said 'no'?"

"Not a chance."

She sighed and sat back a bit, rubbing her neck. "Which one did you hear?"

He opened his mouth to tell her, but shut it again. "Wouldn't you like to know."

She glared at him "Come on, John. Don't develop a sense of humor on me now. What did it say?"

He sighed and relented. "You said a lot of stuff about sacrificing yourself to save me…and how you wished you could be human. Actually, it looked like a bunch of messages all jumbled into one."

Her blushes hadn't cooled and she couldn't seem to look anywhere except at the beer in her hands. "Oh."

"How many did you make?"

"At least a dozen. I didn't know how damaged the files would be by the time you were rescued."

"Sensible of you."

"Not bad for a half-crazed AI. I was pretty out of my mind at the time."

"You once told me you liked crazy."

"On _you_, not on me." Her blushes seemed to get hotter. He seemed awfully close, she realized. When had he come so close? Or had she migrated towards him? The somewhat absurd idea came to her that maybe they naturally gravitated towards each other, like magnets. "AI's don't do crazy well."

"You're not an AI anymore." The way he said it made them both suddenly very aware of the…_possibilities_ between them.

"John?" He was inches away from her now.

"Yeah?"

"What's kissing like?" She didn't have to wonder much longer, though she wasn't sure if he started it or if she had.

She couldn't remember when exactly in her fragmented AI memories she had begun to get a little fixated on the idea of kissing him. The very idea of it confused and excited her as an AI. Confused because she was an AI, and as such had no business wondering or even desiring such a thing. Excited because she _did_ desire it, and no other AIs she spoke with shared this trait. It was uniquely hers. Was it because of John, or was it some kind of flaw in her otherwise flawless programming?

But that was just it. As an AI, she'd _never_ be able to experience it.

And now she was human and kissing him was like nothing she could have imagined. She felt such a rush of emotions it scared her in to pulling away from him. She felt dizzy and her whole body hummed in a way that was slightly disturbing. "Haah, I feel funny." She panted.

"Sorry."

"No, its not…I'm just…confused. I don't understand what's happening to me. It's a lot of data coming in that I don't know how to read yet." Her heart was hammering in her chest in a way that was slightly alarming yet exhilarating at the same time.

"Is that your way of telling me I'm going too fast?" His tone was teasing, but she could hear the slight worry behind his words.

"Well come to think of it, Dr. Halsey _did_ say I needed to _'experience exhilarating activities'_ so she could run more tests, and this definitely qualifies." She grinned at him as she fanned her over-heated face "Care to make-out in the lab?"

John snorted. "No."

Cortana grinned "Oh come on, where's your dedication to science?"

"I've dedicated enough of my life to science." He said, and before she could reply, he caught her up in another kiss, and this time she didn't pull away.

The end!

* * *

AN: sorry about the delay, work sucks. Anyway, as I mentioned previously I haven't decided on a fourth chapter yet, the rating on the story would have to go up if I continue if ya know what i mean. I've had writers block for nearly 12 years now so the fact that I was able to write this at all let alone that some people like it is a miracle to me, so thank you for reading so far and thank you for the reviews!

UPDATE 7/19/13

I'm really REALLY sorry I haven't updated and there is a very good explanation why, and I SWEAR this is true; my computer died.

Seriously. I lost about 6 months worth of data back in February. I know how this sounds, which is one of the reasons I haven't said anything for so long.

I tried getting it fixed but in the end it would have cost more to fix the stupid thing than it would have to just buy a new computer. The repair shop said the power supply had failed and when that happens it can often fry the hard drive.

For awhile I was optimistic, I just decided to purchase a new comp (Which came with Windows 8, UGH!) and would have the repair tech do some data recovery on my old HD. In the end though it would cost a few hundred dollars, and there was no guarantee what all he'd be able to pull off, if anything. So I had to make a choice. Really the only data I wanted off that HD was my stories and a few other things. But in the end it just wasn't worth it. I only had a few more pages written on this story and I didn't have a way to end it yet anyway.

Still, I didn't give up at first; for a few months I tried occasionally try to rewrite what I had lost...but it just wasn't the same.

Some of you may be disappointed and I'm sorry. I do want you to know I *did* try...I really did. I've been dreading making this post because I didn't want to give up, but at this point you deserve to know it is EXTREMELY unlikely this story will go any further. And trust me, this disappoints me way more than it likely disappoints you.

So with much regret, I am marking this story as Complete.

I thank you for your patience and for your support.

~Kierra


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